I had a customer last year ask me to put some cedar mulch down on top of existing dark mulch to keep the deer from eating her trees and shrubs...

Everyone I've spoke with (including suppliers) have never heard of this.

Well this customer sold her house and passed on this info to the new owners. So she requesting the cypress...

I just mulched the property with dark black mulch and the cypress on top is gonna look rediculous... and expensive!

I haven't talked with her about it yet because I wanted to see if anyone here knows this to be true...

BTW, After I layed the cypress down last year... I still saw deer prints in the mulch :confused: ... which leads me to believe it's not true....

David Gretzmier

06-25-2001, 11:55 PM

I have heard that cedar is better on insects, but not deer. Dave g

JJ Lawn

06-26-2001, 12:06 AM

Around my part of the woods the deer must not like the cedar trees, cause during the rut they will really tear them apart. :)

Never heard of using it as a repellent for them though.

Jim

geogunn

06-26-2001, 12:39 AM

no way JOSE' will cedar mulch affect deer behavior.

the reason that you should use cedar shavings in your pet's bed instead of straw or whatever is that "mites" will not inhabit the cedar bed. better for bowser.

GEO

rdh

06-26-2001, 07:17 AM

i got a picture of theme under a cypress tree.

Alan

06-26-2001, 04:36 PM

Up here thecedar mulch is the bark from the white cedar. Pretty much the same as arborvitae hedge. For what it's worth the deer stripped the lower limbs off a cedar hedge on a property we mow. Must have been tow winters ago and it sure is slow coming back, but it IS regenerating where they nibbled it away. I'd say that blows holes in the theory about it being a deer repellent.

awm

06-26-2001, 08:04 PM

NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE. but its excellent to use in dog houses
if your dog has fleas.

kutnkru

06-26-2001, 08:07 PM

And they were in a cypress bed. :eek:

You can try applying Milorganite Fertilizer (available at Home Centers nationwide). This product is refined Human waste, and they definitely will avoid your beds then. Give it a try! ;)

Kris

David Gretzmier

06-26-2001, 11:37 PM

millorganite? deer repellant...hmmm....I'll have to try that one. dave g

kutnkru

06-27-2001, 09:11 PM

Dave if you have a Lowes or Home Depot near you then you have the source for your test drive.

We applied this around some saplings that we planted at the lake for a customer and have not had any trouble with the deer to date. Caterpillars yes, deer no.

The deer will enter the lawn area, and then once they get near the plants wiht the milorganite at the base they just wander about the lawn areas without eating a nibble.:D

Its got my vote, and has since been applied to accompany our deer netting we applied in the fall.